Queen of Sorcery, The Belgariad book Two by David Eddings

Queen of Sorcery, The Belgariad book Two by David Eddings fits into the juvenile fantasy fiction genre and was first published in 1982. It is recommended for readers ages 14 and up.

Queen of Sorcery begins a little over a week after Pawn of Prophecy ended. Garion is struggling to come to grips with the fact that his Aunt Pol is really Polgara the Sorceress and that Mister Wolf is really Belgarath the Sorcerer. These are names that Garion has heard all his life but he figured they were storys people of fiction like the Greek gods are to us today. Garion finds it difficult to not only accept that these people exist but also that they are with him and that he is a distant relative. As he is trying to piece this together the groups adventure continues. Durnik, their blacksmith friend from Faldor's farm is still with them and has continually proved to be a valuable asset with his hard work ethic and sensible thinking which has saved them from many dangers. They are also accompanied by Silk, the wily merchant who is also a prince in disguise, and Barak cousin to a king in the north who is struggling with his own identity crisis. Hettar joins them as well along with many horses and his amazing ability to not only speak with them but understand what they are saying in return. As the story progresses they gain many more companions and a lot more trouble. They fight off several different villains both human and non-human and rescue a Princess on the run. Garion finds out more about who he is and the power he possesses. He also manages to get his revenge for the death of his parents but is shocked when he feels worse not better. After that they enter into the kingdom of Nyissa continuing on their mysterious quest chasing someone down that has stolen something important. While in Nyissa the queen kidnaps Garion and drugs him to get him to do her bidding and be her servant. All seems lost until the sky randomly darkens in the middle of the day Polgara and Barak come to the rescue with the help of Garion and his amazing power that he now able to partially control. I think I enjoyed this one more than the first book not necessarily because it was written better. Most of the characters were fully developed by this point so there was not as many meetings and background stories so it was fast paced with one adventure following another. It was an exciting read that made my mind work to find the clues hidden within it. I also found it interesting that there was a volcanic eruption that caused the sky to darken. Eddings is from the Washington state and just a few months before he wrote this book Mt. St. Helens erupted causing ash to cover everything. It was nearly impossible to see and the sky was darkened even though the sun was still up. I was a clever way to use personal experience to add to the plot of his book.

Other reviews available:

Pawn of Prophecy, The Belgariad book One by David Edding

Magician's Gambit, The Belgariad book Three by David Eddings